Hearth tax records 1691-1695

Hearth tax rolls list the people who were liable for tax on hearths (including kilns) in Scotland in the 1690s. They provide clues about the size of each building, place, estate or parish in the late 17th century. Heads of households of each building were liable for a tax of 14 shillings, payable at Candlemas 1691, and only hospitals and the poor were exempt. There were huge difficulties in collecting the tax, particularly in the Highlands, and attempts to collect the tax went on in some parts of Scotland went on until 1695.

The surviving hearth tax rolls (National Records of Scotland reference E69) are generally arranged by county and then parish or by landed estate. The rolls for the following counties contain lists of householders (some arranged by estate or place): Angus, Ayr, Argyll (but with some areas missing), Bute, Berwick, Clackmannan, Dumbarton, East Lothian, Fife, Kincardine, Lanark, Midlothian, Perth, Renfrew, Roxburgh, Stirling, Sutherland, West Lothian and Wigtown.

The rolls for the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, Moray, Nairn, Peebles and Selkirk give only the total number of hearths surveyed and money collected in each parish or estate. The roll for Inverness-shire consists mainly of a summary of a small number of parishes without listing inhabitants but includes a list of burgesses or inhabitants of the town of Inverness and a list of poor in the parishes surveyed.

In this series of hearth tax rolls there are none for Orkney, Shetland, Caithness, Ross and Cromarty. For information on hearth tax rolls for Dumfriesshire, Fife, Edinburgh, Shetland and Ross-shire in private records in the NRS see the guide on tax records at www.nas.gov.uk/guides/taxation.asp.

Please note that hearth tax records are difficult to read, if you are not familiar with 17th century handwriting. For guidance on 17th century handwriting visit www.scottishhandwriting.com.

This volume contains lists of householders liable for the hearth tax in 1694 in the counties of Bute and part of Argyll. There are no rolls for parts of Argyll which were in rebellion at that time (including Mull, Tiree, Coll and Ardnamurchan).

This volume contains a summary of hearth tax collected in parts of Inverness-shire in 1694. It does not contain lists of householders, except for Inverness burgh and a list of poor in the parishes surveyed.

This volume contains lists of householders in 1694 liable for the hearth tax in the division of Ayrshire know as Kyle. There are lists for the burgh of Ayr and the parishes of Ayr, Galston and Riccarton, Auchinleck, Mauchline, Sorn (Dalgaine), Ochiltree, Old and New Cumnock, Dundonald, Coylton, and Dalrymple.

This volume contains a list of householders liable for hearth tax in most of West Lothian in 1695. The parishes covered are Abercorn, Dalmeny, Kirkliston, Strathbrock, Ecclesmachan, Linlithgow landward, Livingston, Bathgate, Torphichen and Queensferry.

This volume contains lists of householders liable for the hearth tax in 1693 in the division of Ayrshire known as Carrick. There are lists for the parishes of Maybole, Kirkmichael, Dailly, Girvan, Kirkoswald, Ballantrae, Colmonell, Barr and Straiton.

This volume contains lists of householders liable for the hearth tax in 1694 in the division of Ayrshire known as Cunninghame. There are lists for the parishes of Largs, Kilbryde, Kilmarnock and Fenwick, Newmilns and Loudoun, Kilbirnie, Stewarton, Irvine, Dreghorn, Kilmaurs, Ardrossan, Beith, Stevenston and Kilwinning.

This volume contains a list of householders liable for hearth tax in the parishes of North and South Leith, Edinburgh-Canongate, Edinburgh-West Kirk, and parts of Edinburgh outside the city walls in 1690.

This volume contains a summary of hearth tax collected in the burgh of Aberdeen and parishes within Aberdeen presbytery, 1693. It does not contain a list of householders. Volumes 1-4 of the Aberdeenshire hearth tax records consist of minutes of meetings of the tax commissioners for the county and do not contain any information about the number of hearths or hearth tax payers.